Swine Flu Is Expected to Spread to Colorado

Colorado’s top public health doctor, Ned Calonge, expects swine flu to surface in the state but has not yet confirmed any cases. “I have to admit I fully expect to identify cases in the near future given the presence of the virus in other states,” he tells 9News, advising people to take the proper precautions. At least one local hospital and one doctor’s office have notified state health officials about patients with swine flu symptoms–but 9News has declined to identify the locations “so as not to cause unnecessary concern.” The World Health Organization raised its pandemic threat status from 3 to 4 yesterday, two levels below a full-scale pandemic, according to The Washington Post. Coloradans with fevers and chills who entered emergency rooms on Monday were handed masks and sent to negative-air-pressure rooms that prevent germs from spreading, The Denver Post reports, noting that hospitals are preparing–just in case. The Fort Collins Coloradoan provides a handy explanation of swine flu and how to fight it. Meanwhile, a Pueblo farmer frets that consumers will overreact and stop eating pork, according to the Chieftain.